


Insomnia

by WoodsOfBlight



Category: Rayman (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:01:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22946722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoodsOfBlight/pseuds/WoodsOfBlight
Summary: Some nights are restless. Some things are hard to forget.
Kudos: 3





	Insomnia

She wakes in cold sweat.

Her eyes dart around rapidly, trying to take in her pitch-black surroundings. It’s nighttime, she can surmise that quite easily, but the knowledge does little to calm her nerves. She considers calling out to who or whatever may lurk in the shadowy corners of her home, but the more rational part of her insists that if something did lie in wait, it’s better not to call upon them. Not that her ragged breath would keep her hidden for much longer anyway.

Ly sighs and buries her face in her still-trembling hands. The dreams hadn’t changed much over the years. Always the same kind of terror, the exact same feeling of helplessness. All that ever changed was the names and faces of whoever she would fail. That much remained a constant throughout.

She throws the covers off and stumbles to her feet. It doesn’t take long before her eyes get used to the darkness. She has always been able to see in the dark better than most of her fairy kin. They would rely various Teensie-made contraptions, or sometimes just the helpful presence of Lums. For her, all this boils down to just opening the window.

The fairy almost squints a little as the light of the Twin Moons beam right through the cozy cottage, giving her more than enough light to work with. Part of her is a bit relieved to find there really is nothing waiting for her, though this doesn’t lessen the unpleasant sensation of her previous nightmare. She rests on the windowsill for a little while, letting her heart climb back where it belongs. Though she’s not quite a nocturnal being, the soft glimmer of moonlight always feels more comforting to her than it does for the majority of Council fairies.

Just another reason why she prefers to live away from there.

She vanishes back into the depths of her tree-house and in another few minutes, supplements her unwanted vigil with a piping hot herbal mixture. The memory of where she learned this exact brew eludes her, but it always did wonders to send her back to bed afterwards. She grimaces over the first incredibly warm, indescribable taste. As always, the taste pales in comparison to the effects.

It does help though, in its own way. She looks down at her arm, trying not to think of the crackling of electricity around it. The heavy noise of machinery luckily didn’t follow her outside the confines of her nightmare either. And yet on some nights, they all feel so disgustingly real again.

The forest in shambles, her home and the Glade itself in disarray, and her friends disappearing from her side one by one. She tries to run, tries to hide, but they follow and pursue to the ends. Such is their programmed nature. And there’s always more. Cruel flashes of metal, lightning, oil and steam, so harsh that she just closes her eyes and pushes it all back, locks everything away just to push on through. Rarely do the dreams extend to everything that would happen afterwards, whether it’s their victory in the end, or just seeing her friends, any one of them, alive again.

The cup runs empty and she finds her mouth bitter with a couple seeds she just started chewing on with that final gulp. The taste is just enough to keep her grounded in the present. She peeks inside, catching a glimpse of a crude wooden knickknack on one of themselves. It barely resembles the creature Rayman had spoken of, but his enthusiasm to try and provide a visual representation didn’t stop him from exercising his complete lack of any kind of woodworking talent. The memory brings a smile to her face, a first since she woke up.

Ly often wishes she could adopt his carefree outlook on life.

Choosing to let her home remain illuminated for the rest of the evening, she deposits the cup and returns to her bed. She still has several hours to both daylight and another strenuous session with her teachers. The thought of just how far she could take her budding powers crosses her mind, but the familiar heavy feeling in her limbs erases most of that thread. As she slips back into slumber, the images that stay with her are decidedly more pleasant than before.

The Twin Moons stand guard over her dreams right until the light of dawn relieves them from duty.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Visit my Tumblr, @woodsofblight, for more!


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